Millcreek in November, Wait September

Mark and I have lost a lot of enthusiasm for mountain biking since the trails have been drown in several inches of moon dust thanks to the month long (or longer) string of hot days with no rain. So when it rained, and rained long and hard, this weekend the desire to hit the trails was revived. The target? Millcreek Canyon.



We rode up to Dog Lake then over to The Canyons overlook (GWT). The trails were damp and tacky, yes! Only a few shallow mud puddles. But it was cold. I could easily see my breath and there were patches of snow along the way that didn't seem to be melting very fast - observe:



And while it was a sweet ride - cruising the buff single-track through the serene mountain forrest breathing crisp, clean air - the focus was on Mark. See he was riding his fully rigid single-speed bike. He's taken it on some trails in Boise, but the Millcreek trails would really put the bike and Mark to the test. I was impressed - Mark rode like he's been single-speeding all his life - smooth and sure. I was working hard to keep up in the middle ring, but he was off the saddle most of the time, and while he made it look easy he assured me it was not. He did OK on the downhill, but the rigid fork hammered him on the rough and washboard stuff. While it was fun to watch Mark row the SS, I think I'll stick with my full squish, heavy, geared rig.